Inside the freezing Palais Royale, Stefano Pilati delivered a dark, straightforward Yves Saint Laurent collection with a monastic tone.

The capes and floppy hats, the long gold chains and the monochromatic black definitely reminded me of priests and nuns – but Stefano denied there was any religious influence.

Whether or not the collection was inspired by men and women of the church, there were several chic black separates that I liked. Stefano has become known for his purist approach – crisp and simple. I wasn’t a fan of the plastic overlay on many of the runway looks – seemed a touch gimmicky – but if you focused on the pieces alone, it was very wearable, with nice subtle details.

These first two looks of the collection, below, were chic and on trend – capes have definitely been a recurring look here in Paris this past week.

With François-Henri Pinault at YSL

The YSL shows always draw a very chic and respectable fashion crowd. François-Henri Pinault, head of the luxury behemoth PPR was there – despite running one of the biggest luxury conglomerates in the world, he is very accessible – happy to discuss the collections and hear your thoughts. Really impressive. During the show, he sat next to the iconic beauty Catherine Deneuve and the famous French actress Amira Casar.

François-Henri Pinault and Catherine Deneuve

Amira Casar and François-Henri Pinault

Superstar Kylie Minogue was also there, along with actresses Mélanie Thierry and Joanna Preiss, Robert Polet, CEO of the Gucci Group, and many others including Jefferson Hack, Betty Catroux, Loulou de la Falaise and Maria Shriver.

With Kulie Minogue

Saying hello to Joanna Preiss

I greeted Stefano after the show and discussed the collection with him. He’s always so welcoming and friendly.

Greeting Stefano Pilati after the show

Joking with Stefano Pilati

runway images via style.com; photos by Marie Goujon